Proposed Housing for Mentally Ill Might Be Relocated
Anaheim city officials said they would try to find an alternate location for low-income housing for people with mental illnesses after residents near the proposed site complained that potential residents could be "undesirables," "child molesters" and "crazy" people, the Los Angeles Times reports.
City Council members "said they were taken aback and even revolted by the language residents used in objecting" to the proposal, which would have provided housing and a counseling center for mentally disabled people, including some who were once homeless, according to the Times.
Sandy Lang, senior project manager at Jamboree Housing, the developer of the proposed project, said the company should have included the community more when developing the plans. According to Lang, city staffers said proper notice to community members about the plan was enough to process the proposal so Jamboree officials decided against outreach.
The City Council also told Jamboree to develop a new plan for the site that would include services for low-income families, in addition to people with mental disabilities (So/McKibben, Los Angeles Times, 6/23).